ANOTHER very busy month for the Community Policing Team which started off with two drugs warrants being executed in Carters Mead and Rushton Grove, drugs were seized and arrests made. Speeding and road safety continues to be an issue and speed checks have been carried out in Paringdon Road, Church Langley, Momples Road and Mark Hall areas, a number of requests have been made for checks in various area’s throughout Harlow and the team will get out to other locations throughout the year.

As the weather improves so does the reports of nuisance motorbikes which causes upset to the local community, beat officers have been working hard to identify both the riders of owners of motorbikes that are used in an anti-social manner, this month four stolen mopeds have been recovered and a moped seized for being used in an anti-social manner, we will continue to take action against those who use bikes inappropriately. Please do report issues and where possible obtain the index number and description of the rider for your local beat officer to follow up on. Officers have also been making their presence known on both the cycle paths and in the Town Park on foot and on mountain bikes, these patrols are welcomed by the local residents and allow officers to get to areas often overlooked.

Some extra investment by Harlow Council has seen CCTV camera’s installed in the Market Street area of Old Harlow this is in direct response to reported issues with crime and anti-social behaviour and was an matter that was discussed at a public meeting earlier on in the year. The cameras will be a vital tool in preventing and detecting crime which will be complimented by your local beat officers patrolling the area and listening to local concerns.

On Friday 7th June a stabbing occurred in Terminus Street, CID officers were first on scene and administered first aid to the victim until paramedics arrived, over the weekend there was significant police activity in the Town Centre and I thank the locally community for their support. Section 60 (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act) search powers were authorised by a senior police officer and as a result of the hard work by local officers over the weekends 250 stop & searches were carried out, 7 arrests were made for various offences including possession of an offensive weapon, going equipped to steal & robbery, 11 people were dealt with for drug offences. CID officers are continuing to investigate the assault and are viewing CCTV from the area any information can be passed anonymously via crime stoppers on 0800 555 111 or www.crimestoppers-uk.org. Both the Community Police Team and the council Community Safety Team will be increasing our patrols and presence in the Town Centre to prevent violent crime and anti-social behaviour.

The ‘Only cowards carry’ knife bin remains outside Harlow Police station and in light of the above incident I would urge the local community to make full use of it to dispose of any unwanted knives to make sure they do not fall into the wrong hands. Only Cowards carry is a local charity that that was founded in November 2012 by Caroline Shearer in memory of her 17 year old son who was fatally stabbed. The charity provides knife bins and education throughout Essex, further information can be found at www.onlycowardscarry.org

On a lighter note the Harlow Carnival will take place on Sunday 30th June, police cadets have a float and officers will be working closely with the council to ensure the event runs smoothly, hopefully the weather will be better than last year !

Next month we welcome an additional four officers to the team, they will be heading up the new Town Centre Team and will be providing an increased presence in the Town whilst dealing with crime and anti-social behaviour. A great deal of information can be found on the Essex Police website www.essex.police.uk and more locally Harlow Community Policing Team post information on both Facebook and Twitter. As always the police station is open daily between 9am & 5pm and you can make contact with your local beat officers via the email address [email protected]. Or via telephone number 101